http://obama.senate.gov/issues/good_government_responsible_spending/Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act
Senator Obama worked closely with Senator Coburn, to draft and ultimately pass the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act. President Bush signed this measure into law in September of 2006.
This important bill will bring badly needed transparency to Federal spending by creating a user-friendly website to search all government contracts, grants, earmarks, and loans, thereby opening up Federal financial transactions to public scrutiny. This measure was cosponsored by more than 40 Senators and received the support of more than 100 outside groups from all parts of the political spectrum. It was also endorsed by dozens of editorial boards across the country from the Wall Street Journal, to the Chicago Sun-Times and The Oklahoman.
The Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act
Hidden, last-minute earmarks hide pork and add to wasteful federal spending. Senator Obama sponsored the Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act. The bill would shed light on the almost 16,000 earmarks that were included in spending bills in 2005. Under the bill, all earmarks, including the name of the requestor and a justification for the earmark, would have to be disclosed 72 hours before they could be considered by the full Senate. Senators would be prohibited from advocating for an earmark if they have a financial interest in the project or earmark recipient. And, earmark recipients would have to disclose to an Office of Public Integrity the amount that they have spent on registered lobbyists and the names of those lobbyists. Several of these provisions were included in the ethics and lobbying reform bill that passed the Senate in January 2007
Restricting No-Bid Contracts
Senator Obama has been a leader in the fight to prevent the abuse of no-bid contracts. He believes that competition is good for American business, helping to ensure high quality and low costs for products and services purchased by the government. Senator Obama shares the outrage of many Americans who are embarrassed by reports of waste and fraud in government contracting for hurricane relief and recovery in the Gulf Coast. Current audit findings estimate the waste at more than $2 billion. This waste not only defrauds taxpayers; it deprives vulnerable citizens who are struggling to restore their livelihoods in the wake of a national tragedy. To stop these abuses, Senator Obama introduced amendments to the Homeland Security and Defense spending bills to reinforce the requirements for competitive procedures in contracting and to limit the use of unnecessary exceptions by government officials. Senator Obama has continued to aggressively conduct oversight actions to bring FEMA into compliance with these laws.
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/tax_reform/Increasing the Child Tax Credit
Senator Obama has co-sponsored the Working Family Child Assitance Act along with Senators Snowe and Lincoln, to adjust the income requirement for the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. This will put more money in the pockets of more working families with children, who are struggling to make ends meet.
In addition, Senator Obama introduced an amendment in the 109th Congress that would provide immediate tax relief to low-income working families from the Gulf Coast disaster areas by enhancing the refundable portion of the child tax credit. As a change from current law, children would no longer be denied a benefit because their parents’ incomes are too low.
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/defense/Destroying Surplus and Unguarded Conventional Weapons
Small weapons have been responsible for four out of five casualties in recent US conflicts. There are countless caches of older mortars, antipersonnel landmines, and other dangerous weapons spread across the globe. These caches are minimally secured and make attractive targets for terrorists. For instance, shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles have hit more than 40 civilian aircraft and killed more than 600 people since the 1970s. The U.S. government's current response to threats from conventional weapons stockpiles is inadequately funded.
Senator Obama has partnered with Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-IN) to address this looming security vulnerability. In 1991, Senator Lugar helped craft the sweeping Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program to enable the former Soviet Union to safeguard and dismantle its enormous stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, related materials, and delivery systems. The program has deactivated or destroyed 6,760 nuclear warheads.
After visiting weapons stockpiles in Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, Senators Lugar and Obama introduced the Cooperative Proliferation Detection, Interdiction Assistance, and Conventional Threat Reduction Act of 2006 in the 109th Congress, which would expand the cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons. The Lugar-Obama bill would energize the U.S. program against unsecured lightweight anti-aircraft missiles and other conventional weapons and would strengthen the ability of America's allies to detect and interdict illegal shipments of weapons and materials of mass destruction. Funding would be provided to eliminate unsecured conventional weapons and to assist countries in improving their ability to detect and interdict materials and weapons of mass destruction. The Lugar-Obama bill was included in the Department of State Authorities Act of 2006 and was signed into law by President Bush in January 2007.
Health Care
Senator Obama successfully passed legislation in the Senate to force the Pentagon to work towards an efficient electronic medical records system that will help ensure better care for our nation's troops. It is Senator Obama's goal for each separating service member to receive a secure electronic copy of his or her military and medical records at the time of discharge to smooth the transition to the Department of Veterans' Affairs health care system.
Traumatic Brain Injury
As a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has been tracking the high incidence of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among the veterans returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. TBI is being called the signature injury of the Iraq war. Often caused by the shock wave of improvised explosive devices, TBI can result in permanent brain damage. In order to ensure that these returning heroes receive appropriate medical attention, Senator Obama passed legislation in the Senate that requires all soldiers to be assessed for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) after they return from deployments.
Protecting Troops from Avian Flu
In 2005, Senator Obama introduced and the Senate passed legislation that would require the Department of Defense to issue a plan to protect our troops from an avian flu pandemic.
Protecting Illinois' Military Bases
Senator Obama joined with other Illinois members of Congress to protect Illinois' military bases during the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. Illinois military bases - such as the Springfield Air National Guard, Rock Island Arsenal, Peoria Air National Guard, and Scott Air Force Base - are critical to protecting the state and the nation.
Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the Illinois delegation, the state will lose some base presence as a result of BRAC. Senator Obama will continue working with the affected communities to reduce the numbers of jobs that are lost and to ensure that the schools and communities near the affected bases continue to thrive despite BRAC.
In 2006, Senator Obama introduced an amendment that was signed into law to require the Air Force to report on its plans for future missions at bases like Springfield Air National Guard, which is scheduled to lose units as a result of BRAC. The report will include an assessment of each base's capabilities and a description of potential future missions.
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/seniors/Emergency Preparedness
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Senator Obama introduced legislation to prevent another tragedy in which the poor and elderly are left behind during a natural disaster or terrorist attack. His proposal, which was included in the port security law signed by President Bush in 2006, requires states and localities to have emergency evacuation plans in place that take into account the special needs of senior citizens.
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/crime/Fighting the Spread of Methamphetamines
Senator Obama cosponsored the Combat Meth Act, which provides more money for fighting methamphetamine (meth), tightens controls on the sale of meth ingredients, and provides assistance to the children of meth abusers. The legislation would limit access to cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, the primary ingredient used to make methamphetamine. This bill passed the Senate and became law in the 109th Congress.
Senator Obama has supported greater funding to fight meth through the use of Byrne Justice Assistance Grants. The Byrne Grant program provides important funding to many local Illinois law enforcement groups. For example, the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group (SIEG), a meth taskforce that polices 31 Illinois counties, pays for 5 of its 12 agents through Byrne grants. During Senate consideration of the Department of Justice funding bill, Senator Obama cosponsored an amendment to raise Byrne funding to $900 million in 2006; the amendment passed the Senate.
Sex Offenders
Senator Obama cosponsored Dru's Law which creates a nationwide sex offender database and requires greater monitoring of sex offenders upon their release from prison. The bill passed the Senate in July of 2005. This legislation was incorporated into a larger bill, the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act, which Senator Obama supported and which has been signed into law.
He also cosponsored the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. This bill increases the penalties for sex crimes against children under the age of 12 and creates a national Internet site known as the National Sex Offender Public Registry. The bill would also provide grants to local law enforcement to assist in preventing and investigating sex crimes against minors.
Senator Obama is a cosponsor of the KIDS Act, which requires convicted sex offenders to provide their Internet identifiers, such as e-mail addresses and instant message addresses, for inclusion into the national sex offender registry.
Violence Against Women Act
Senator Obama cosponsored the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act which passed the Senate on October 4, 2005 and was subsequently signed into law. The Act provides important funding and assistance to help communities, non-profit organizations, and law enforcement combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The Act establishes a sexual assault services program and provides grants for education programs to prevent domestic violence and encourage reporting of abuses.
Security for Federal Judges
After the horrific murder of an Illinois federal judge's mother and husband, Senator Obama and Senator Durbin worked together to beef up security at our federal courthouses. The Illinois senators secured $12 million to improve security for federal judges. Senator Obama also joined Senator Durbin in requesting a Government Accountability Office investigation into additional steps that can be taken to protect judges.
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/homeland_security/Disaster Response
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, improving our nation's emergency planning and response capacity has become a priority for Senator Obama. He introduced legislation to ensure that the mistakes witnessed before and after Katrina are not repeated in the future. Language based on Senator Obama’s bill creating a National Family Locator System was included in the Fiscal Year 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill.
Nuclear Waste
Within the past five years, three nuclear power plants have reported missing spent fuel. Senator Obama introduced the Spent Nuclear Fuel Tracking and Accountability Act in 2005, which would establish specific and uniform guidelines for tracking, controlling, and accounting for individual spent fuel rods or segments at nuclear power plants, including procedures for conducting physical inventories. These provisions were included in the Nuclear Security Act of 2005, which passed the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee in June of 2005.
Drinking Water Security
Senator Obama drafted an amendment to provide $37.5 million over the next five years to protect the country's drinking water from a terrorist attack. The amendment also instructs the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control to develop the tools needed by drinking water systems to detect and respond to the introduction of biological, chemical, and radiological contaminants by terrorists. His amendment was included in the Safe Drinking Water Act, which passed the EPW Committee in July of 2005.
There's lots more, but you can get it all with the links here:
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/
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